virtualisation

[pandreas21]

I was wondering if there is some kind of software that lets you run two operating systems at the same time. I am not interested in any solution that involves having a pre-installed host OS (aka vmware), but a lower level solution where the virtualisation software acts as an OS and allows booting of say Windows and Linux at the same time.
Is this possible? Could it be done without the need of special hardware? Are there any projects under development with this subject in mind?

Thank you for your time

I'm Certifiable, not certified.
It just means my answers are from experience, not a book.

 

[ChipDeath]

Yes, you just need at least 2 Hard disks - they can be two partitions on one physical disk, or two actual drives.

Using Windows 98 & XP as an example, you could format one partition as FAT32 & install 98 on it, then run the XP install and select the other partition for XP to install (i.e. DON'T upgrade the existing OS) XP's installer will then give a menu for OS selection whenever you reboot the PC.

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Epox 8RDA+ V1.1 w/ Custom NB HS
XP1700+ @200x10 (~2Ghz), 1.4 Vcore
2x256Mb Corsair PC3200LL/1x512Mb Corsair XMS PC4000 2.5-3-3-7
Sapphire 9800Pro (VGA Silencer Rev3) @418/742

 

[ChipDeath]

Unless you mean <i>actually</i> at the <i>same</i> time, which is of course impossible (Both OSes would want low-level hardware access, which isn't going to be available)

Even if it was possible, why would you want an OS that can only utilize half the power of your PC? YOU can't physically use both at once, so what's the point?

You could have 2 pcs and a KVM switch though :lol:

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Epox 8RDA+ V1.1 w/ Custom NB HS
XP1700+ @200x10 (~2Ghz), 1.4 Vcore
2x256Mb Corsair PC3200LL/1x512Mb Corsair XMS PC4000 2.5-3-3-7
Sapphire 9800Pro (VGA Silencer Rev3) @418/742

 

[Snorkius]

You could have a third OS with access to the low-level hardware that emulates that access for other OS's on top of it, and have it in a flash chip sort of like a BIOS, except bigger and faster. Add lots of RAM and it could be possible, especially in a dual CPU set-up.

<font color=blue>The day <font color=green>Microsoft</font color=green> will make something that doesn't suck is the day they'll start making vacuum cleaners.</font color=blue>

 

[ChipDeath]

Having given it a little more thought, I agree, it would be possible.

Still seems far more trouble than it would be worth - what would the advantages be, when compared to having one OS running at full speed and that os emulating the other?

It would just mean that both OSes run slower than full speed, instead of just one.



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Epox 8RDA+ V1.1 w/ Custom NB HS
XP1700+ @200x10 (~2Ghz), 1.4 Vcore
2x256Mb Corsair PC3200LL/1x512Mb Corsair XMS PC4000 2.5-3-3-7
Sapphire 9800Pro (VGA Silencer Rev3) @418/742

 

[pandreas21]

What i really meant is instead of having a bloated OS running behind the virtual machines wouldn't it be possible for say vmware to be the middleware between the OSes and the hardware? In a way that in a dual processor system you could utilize its full potential by running Windows and Linux at the same time. No dependancy to a host OS and no memory taken by the host virtually doing "nothing". Why have to sacrifice memory and processing power for the host operating system when a low level solution could take its place, just be the middleware between the real OSes and the hardware. Something like a baby OS big enough just to take care of this translation process. I think there used to be once a hardware solution for SGI's being a daughterboard with an x86 processor/RAM on it that could run PC in a PC. Don't remember if it required Irix to be loaded first though.

Hope the above clear things up a bit.

I'm Certifiable, not certified.
It just means my answers are from experience, not a book.

 

[Mephistopheles]

One interesting dual boot trick is actually having two physical disks from which to choose from through the bios. This would be as clean as possible, as one OS wouldn't interact with the other at all, and you'd have a pretty low-level OS choice (not those nasty LILO things that never quite seem to work perfectly).

 

[Snorkius]

VANDERPOOL!

Intel and AMD are way ahead of all of us.

<font color=blue>The day <font color=green>Microsoft</font color=green> will make something that doesn't suck is the day they'll start making vacuum cleaners.</font color=blue>